Blog Topics That Sell

We have all been told time and time again that we need to be blogging. We have heard all of the benefits like: “It’s good for SEO”, “It keeps readers coming back to your website”, and “It positions you as an expert”. If you’re anything like me that all sounds pretty enticing and has made you a believer! So you start blogging to get all of these awesome results you were told about.

After a little while it can become pretty draining if you aren’t seeing any results. After all you are running a business and you want to make sure you are spending your time on things that are supporting and growing that business. So today I want to talk to you about how you can turn your readers into customers with blog topics that sell.

Four Ways to turn Readers into Customers

Step 1: Blog For Business Not Lifestyle
Your blog is for your business. You are using it to grow your business and keep readers/potential customers engaged. It is not a journal or a diary (unless your business is being a professional blogger, then it might be). With that being said the #1 thing to keep in mind when brainstorming blog topics are your readers/potential customers. Your blog is for them and what they want to read. So therefore you need to write on topics that will keep them coming back. With keeping that in mind you need to know what your readers are coming to you for. For example if you are a photographer you probably wouldn’t have readers who want to hear you talk about where to buy the best running sneakers. Instead they want to hear about photography, having a business, or getting their pictures taken. Which brings me to step 2.

Step 2: Find Out What Your Readers Want
So as I mentioned before you should write about things that will keep your readers coming back. Your question back to me might have been: “Well how do I find out what they want?” There are two simple words to solve this problem. Listen & Ask. It’s as simple as that.

Two ways you can implement listening in your business:
Frequently Asked Questions
Are your customers/readers emailing you questions? Any question you get asked even if it is not a frequently asked question you should be taking note of. I personally use Evernote and in Evernote I have a notebook just for questions I get asked. These questions are gold. Your customers/readers are telling you exactly what they want to know. These could and in my opinion should be turned into blog posts.

Pay Attention To Content Engagement
If you are getting a lot of likes, comments, or shares on any content you put out (including social media posts) this is your audience telling you they are interested in that topic. So you should definitely keep track of what they are most interested in and put out more of that.

Two ways to implement asking in your business:

Directly
Literally just go out and ask your ideal customers what they want to know. Email them and ask specific questions. Sticking with the photography example some questions you can ask are:
What are your biggest concerns with getting your pictures taken?
What questions do you have about my packages?
Do you have any questions about the day of the shoot?
Or ask these questions in a survey. Use their responses as blog posts!

Subtly
You can subtly ask by just putting a PS. In your blog posts or asking your audience for their thoughts in a social media post. Encourage them to send you their questions.

Just from implementing this listen & ask method you will be sure to get tons of useful information that you can use for more than just blogging.

Step 3: Solve The Problems Your Customers Pay You To Solve
To have a business you need to solve a problem. Yes even if you are an artist/creative you solve a problem. Problem: I need a gorgeous photo of my family on my wall. Solution: Hire a photographer. So in your blog posts, solve the problems your customers pay you to solve. If you are a photographer maybe you sell mentoring sessions. So teach short photography lessons in your blog posts. This will do a few things. One it will build your credibility and establish you as an expert. Two it will give people an idea of what it’s like to work with you. Three, if they are the right fit it will make them want more!

Now I know what you are thinking. “If I give my stuff away for free then why would people buy anything?” Well one, you are not giving away everything. You are just giving them parts and two you probably aren’t giving it away in the order you know people should be learning it in. So it will be great content but people will still want the full experience and that’s worth the investment. So make sure to have blog posts that are showcasing what your customers pay you for.

Step 4: Get Your Readers To Realize They Need Your Help
This final step has to do with your launch content strategy. When you know you will be launching a product/service or opening up spaces that you want booked, then you should be planning for it. One of the things that should be planned is your content, in this case your blog posts. Depending on how frequently you post you would either start this process off further or closer to launch date. Frequent = 1-2 weeks before. Less Frequent = 3-4 weeks before launch. In these posts you would subtly start building up to why your readers should hire someone (you) to help them with a particular problem or need they have.

Example: Wedding Photographer
Early out you may casually start commenting about wedding season in your posts. Then you would start building up to posts like: “How To Find The Right Photographer”, “Why You Should Hire A Professional Photographer For Your Big Day”, and “My Customer Experience”. Then you would end with an announcement that you are now booking for the season.

All of those posts were just strategically building up to why someone should hire you. So use this method to take readers on a journey of why they need what you have to offer.

Blogging should be a part of your business. Not just for all of the wonderful intangible results it can get you. But also for the real tangible results like money! If you use your blog in a strategic way it can be a tool that you can count on to grow your business. I would love to hear one insight you took away from this posts! Let me know in the comments below!

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Nevica Vazquez is a Business Strategist to creative bosses who want to make their income predictable by consistently booking dream clients. Her love for business and marketing led to a BS in Business Management and a Certification in Business Strategy. She works with creative entrepreneurs who are talented and passionate at what they do. She believes that with your business foundations in place, the right strategy behind you, and your skills & passion guiding you, you can have the profitable business of your dreams. It is her mission to work with creative biz owners on the strategy of their business; so that they can create a life of work they love, while having the time and money to spend with the people who matter most!

Thanks so much Rosalind! It definitely takes pactience & consistency. You need to deliver value, build trust, and show your audience why they should work with you. But you are completely right so valuable!

All very commons sense thoughts, but things I honestly have never thought to include in my blog.

Currently, I am in the midst of trying to redesign. I was a mommy blog, writing about things only pertaining to moms, but I really want to move more into the business aspect. Maybe WAHMs etc… However, I am afraid to leave my “roots” and move on for two reasons… 1. I do enjoy writing a mommy blog and about mommy topics & 2. I feel like the business/blog/WAHM blog niche is over-saturated right now, I want success, not less.

Eithe way, this is a great post! It gave me A LOT to think about. I will be sharing it out.

Hi Jillian! Thanks so much for stopping by. I love my fellow Savvies 🙂
I think one thing you can do is start a WAHM business series on your blog. So depending on how often you blog (ex: if you blog everyday) have one WAHM post a week. See how your audience reacts to it. And take it from there you already have an audience of moms so I wouldn’t leave that audience they may be really interested in the WAHM ascpect you want to bring in!

Thank you so much for sharing these insights! It is very easy for me to get into a blogging rut. This has helped give me a ton of ideas as well as made me realize I need to be planning out my posts better. Thanks again!

Hey Deanna! Definitely implement step 2 and step 3 and you will have a lot of topics to write on. To fast forward this process I definitely recommend talking to potential customers/customers 1-1 and finding out what they want to know!

Thanks so much Irene!
And yes it definitely is telling you something! Use that as a guide to give your readers/customers more of what they want to see. That way they can keep coming back and you will keep building trust with them!

I am challenged with the whole blogging concept. While I understand the purpose and idea behind creating and using one in your business it’s the getting started, or rather, knowing how to get started that keeps me in limbo. Nevica your tips are fabulous. I especially love the strategy used to create a post that was shared. Having a strategy in place always makes all the difference for me. Thank you. xoxo

Hey Mary!
Starting a blog just like starting anything can be tough. But once you start that is the hardest part! Let me know if you need any resources on how to start to content plan! & Thank you so much for your comment and kind words! So glad this post gave you some insight!

Thanks for this, it was so helpful! I just started my business, I knew I needed to blog but had no idea of how or where to begin. I can’t wait to start implementing these strategies to create content and bring customers to my site!

I actually don’t have a blog but a lot of that stems from the fact that I wouldn’t know what to post about and if there’s a need for it, but this really helps set a great direction for someone who is currently blogging or thinking about starting a blog. I’m the latter 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this insight!

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with me Michelle! I don’t think blogging is for everyone. But definitely think it could be a huge benefit to the right business when done right! I’d love to know if you start one!

Hey Nevica! I really enjoyed your blog post on blog topics! Something I took away from it was to write down any questions I get from potential clients. Genius!! Another point I took away was to blog for my business not my lifestyle. I think I get caught up in that sometimes and I need to really sit down and think – why would my readers care? LOL. Awesome post – thank you for the inspiration!

Hey Amanda!
I am so glad you liked the post! Keeping track of questions from our clients is so helpful and will always give us tons of topic ideas! & yes! We always have to pull back and remember why we are blogging. If it’s to help our clients with valuable information so that they trust us and want to book with us then that’s what we need to focus on! 🙂

Great article, Nevica, and perfect timing! I’ll be starting my blog soon after my website launches and love these helpful tips, which will help me plan better. I especially loved Tip #4 about building up to why your ideal client needs your services. It feels like a softer approach, as opposed to “sell, sell, sell.” Thanks for your insight!

Congrats on launching your blog this week Kelsey! That is awesome! So glad this post was able to help! Always remember to provide the reader with relevant value that connects to what you sell, and you will be great!

I use to be a style blogger. More like I still am. But now that I decided to open up my wedding photography business I find it hard to think about what to talk about in professional blog. This has helped me and next week blogging will be my goal to do more. How many times per week should we be blogging?

Hey Lily! Thanks so much for your question! I am so happy to hear that you are blogging for your photography business. Everyone has a different answer to this. But here is mine: It is all about what you can commit to consistently and what your audience has the time to consume.

Some people blog every single day, but when you think about your ideal client, a busy bride or a future bride. Does she really have the time to read your posts every single day? And are you going to be able to maintain blogging everyday without getting burnt out?

I recommend blogging at least once a week to stay top of mind with your audience. If a blog I read goes more than a week without posting I sometimes forget who they are. But if I hear from them every week, they will stay top of mind.